Castellano to ride Bolt d'Oro in San Felipe Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Bolt d’Oro, a two-time Grade 1 winner in 2017, will have a new rider for his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 10.

Javier Castellano will replace Corey Nakatani, owner and trainer Mick Ruis told track publicity on Sunday.

Nakatani rode Bolt d’Oro in all four of his starts last year, including wins in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity at seven furlongs on Sept. 4 and the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 30. Bolt d’Oro was third as the 7-10 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 4 after racing wide throughout.

“I was disappointed in the Breeders’ Cup, but I don’t want to make excuses,” Ruis told Santa Anita.

The BC Juvenile was won by Good Magic, who won the Eclipse Award as the champion 2-year-old male of 2017. Bolt d’Oro was a finalist for the Eclipse Award.

Bolt d’Oro worked three furlongs in 36.80 seconds on Saturday, his first workout since the Breeders’ Cup. Nakatani was aboard for the workout. The workout was delayed a few weeks after Bolt d’Oro was briefly out of training in late December because of a pulled muscle.

The $400,000 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles is a key prep for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 7. Ruis said in a text message on Sunday that he would like Castellano to travel to California to work Bolt d’Oro in late February as the buildup to the San Felipe intensifies.